The Governors' Cup trophy, pictured at the Sept. 20 rally in front of Pawtucket City Hall, will make an appearance in every Rhode Island city and town this offseason.

By

BRENDAN McGAIR

PAWTUCKET – In the eyes of team president Mike Tamburro, the PawSox’ championship season is a feat that should be shared and celebrated with the public.
Though plans are still being finalized, Tamburro, gave the green light to announce that the Governors’ Cup trophy will be making the rounds this offseason. Right now the target is to bring the silver hardware to each and every Rhode Island city and town along with neighboring Massachusetts communities.
“We're thrilled to be taking the Governors’ Cup trophy to all 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island and throughout Massachusetts, too,” stated Tamburro. “This historic trophy dates back over 80 years and we couldn't be more excited to share it with all of our fans throughout Southern New England.”
The trophy tour kicked off earlier this week as the Governors’ Cup made an appearance at the BoSox Club luncheon, held at the Sheraton Needham (Mass.) Hotel. Many in attendance wished to have their photo taken with the trophy, which figures to be the general reaction during the coming months. Closer to home, the trophy was on display during Thursday night’s Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's 27th annual awards dinner at the Twin River Event Center.
A complete schedule figures to become crystallized in the coming weeks and appear on www.pawsox.com[2].
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Gerald Perry’s third tour of duty as Pawtucket’s hitting coach has come to an end as the Red Sox have elected not to retain the 51-year-old for the 2013 season. Perry rejoined the PawSox this past season after spending the 2011 season out in Oakland as the Athletics’ hitting coach.
Previously, Perry had served as the Pawtucket’s hitting coach in 1998 and 2010. Under Perry, the PawSox hit .266 as a team in 2012, which was the third-highest mark in the International League. It’s also worth noting that under Perry’s tutelage, Jose Iglesias increased his PawSox batting average 31 points over the previous season.
One organizational candidate that figures to receive strong consideration is current Portland hitting coach Dave Joppie. The 46-year-old Joppie has been a hitting coach in the Red Sox’ system for the past seven seasons with the past five seasons coming with the Sea Dogs.
One player who reaped the benefits of Joppie’s guiding hand was outfield prospect Bryce Brentz. In April with Portland, Brentz batted .216 with 29 strikeouts in 88 at-bats. By the time he landed in Pawtucket in late August, Brentz’ final Portland numbers –.296 average with 17 homers and 76 RBI – were on par with his output at previous minor-league stops.
“(Dave) knows how to take care of his players, knowing that works for me isn’t going to work for other people,” said Brentz earlier this month at McCoy Stadium. “We could have a conversation like a father to a red-headed step child and really get into it a little bit. At the end, there were no hard feelings and we’d hug and walk away. Dave knew how to speak to me as well as the other guys.”